Category Archives: Uncategorized

Dr. Pepper’s Jaded Hearts Club Band, the supergroup featuring Muse frontman Matt Bellamy and Blur’s Graham Coxon have been added to the bill of Roger Daltrey’s concert for the Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall. They will perform a set of Beatles songs. Intriguingly, the video on the Royal Albert Hall website shows them jamming with Paul McCartney – is that a hint that Macca will make an appearance at the concert too? He played a gig for the Teenage Cancer Trust a few years ago…

Cavern City Tours is proud to announce that the Cavern Pub, sister venue to the Cavern Club, has officially been reopened!

In January we closed the Cavern Pub for 3 weeks to give it a much needed update. But, don’t worry as we haven’t changed it too much. If you loved the way the Pub looked before then we hope you’ll appreciate the small changes we’ve made to keep things fresh, while still maintaining the rock ‘n’ roll vibe we’ve all come to know and love.

Our memorabilia cabinets have been repainted and reorganised giving us the opportunity to display new memorabilia alongside some of our old favourites. We now also have special cabinets dedicated to Mod music, George Harrison, John Lennon, Motown and more!

The bar has been rebuilt providing a better view of the stage and all of our furniture has been updated, too!

Two of the most famous photo shoots of the Beatles were taken of them looking over the balcony on the stairwell at the headquarters of EMI Records in Manchester Square, London. One was taken in 1963, and one in 1969.

However these weren’t the only photos of the Beatles taken there – in fact, EMI House and Manchester Square were used for countless photo shoots of the Fabs and many other pop stars of the 60s. EMI had their photographic department in the building and regularly utilised the area for photos. Here are some of them:

The Beatles on the EMI Balcony 1963Beatles 1969The Beatles with George Martin and Dick James, March 5th 1963The Beatles on the steps leading down to the basement at EMIAfter the Beatles, only 2 other bands were allowed to post on the balcony of EMI – one were the Sex Pistols!…and BlurYoung David Bowie by a Manchester Square signEMI distributed Capitol Records in the UK. Here are the Beach Boys by EMI HousePink Floyd high kickingThe Supremes in Manchester SquareStevie Wonder

A very intriguing article appeared in ‘The Times’ newspaper today about a house in Charles Street, Mayfair, that was owned by the Beatles, through Apple, in ‘the late 1960s’. It says the Beatles used to come here a lot and were even photographed in the bath! It also states that John Lennon painted graffiti on to the tiles in the kitchen.

Curious, as I cannot recall of the Beatles owning a house there at that time. Apple moved into 48 Charles Street in 1983, and moved out in 1989, but that was of course long after the passing of John Lennon. Also the location of the house for sale seems to be the other end of the street.

I know there are a few people still around who worked for Apple in the late 60s. Does anyone have any knowledge of this house?

ON THIS BLUE MONDAY,
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE!
TO CELEBRATE ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY, THE BEATLES YELLOW SUBMARINE WILL BE RETURNING TO THE BIG SCREEN IN THE UK ON SUNDAY 8 JULY FOR A VERY SPECIAL CINEMA EVENT. facebook.com/yellowsubmarinethefilm

BASED ON THE SONG BY JOHN LENNON & PAUL MCCARTNEY
FEATURING JOHN LENNON, PAUL MCCARTNEY, GEORGE HARRISON AND RINGO STARR
DIRECTED BY GEORGE DUNNING

‘One of the most perfect pieces of moving art ever made.’
The Simpsons writer Josh Weinstein

Today might be Blue Monday but Picturehouse Entertainment are thrilled to announce the blues-banishing news that The Beatles’ legendary animated hit film YELLOW SUBMARINE is returning to cinemas across the UK and Ireland on 8 July 2018.

An unmissable cinema event, this momentous big-screen revival will give generations of audiences the golden opportunity to revisit Pepperland for the 50th anniversary of the film’s original release.

The visionary feature film designed by the great art director Heinz Edelmann can now be experienced in glorious surround sound with the groundbreaking animation presented in stunningly-remastered 4k. Looking and sounding better than ever before, join John, Paul, George and Ringo on the technicolour adventure of a lifetime.

Illustrated with mind-bending moving images, YELLOW SUBMARINE tells the story of how The Beatles battle the music-hating Blue Meanies armed only with the power of love.

From Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds to Nowhere Man, and Eleanor Rigby to All You Need Is Love, YELLOW SUBMARINE features some of the most-loved songs from the greatest band the world has ever known.

An exuberant fusion of music, film and art, YELLOW SUBMARINE is a landmark cinematic experience that is as fun and vibrant as it was in 1968.

With tickets on sale from 17 April, get ready to set sail for the Sea of Green with the Fab Four once again. Go to the brand new Facebook page for updates and news about this exciting event: facebook.com/yellowsubmarinethefilm

UK outfit Picturehouse Entertainment has struck a deal with Apple to release a digitally remastered version of the Beatles’ animated movie Yellow Submarine in cinemas for the first time since 1999.

The 4K version is due to play in Picturehouse and other UK and Ireland cinemas on July 8, 2018 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of its original release.

The iconic musical feature, designed by art director Heinz Edelmann, tells the story of how The Beatles battle the music-hating Blue Meanies armed only with the power of love. The film features performances of Beatles classics including Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,Nowhere Man, Eleanor Rigby and All You Need Is Love.

Clare Binns, deputy managing director of Cineworld-owned Picturehouse, said: ”I loved Yellow Submarine 50 years ago and it still rocks the universe. This summer, Picturehouse Entertainment is thrilled to bring The Beatles back to the big screen again with a film that makes your heart beat fast. Bringing the film back for its 50th anniversary is great, both for those who loved it the first time around and for those new singing and dancing audiences who will be introduced to this classic music and animation. I look forward to the huge smiles on faces all across the UK and Ireland on 8 July – as the fab four said, All You Need is Love!” For more click here

The Beatles’ classic Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album is to go into the Guinness Book of Records for the longest gap between stints at No. 1 in the UK.

The LP first topped the bestsellers in the group’s home country on the chart dated 10 June 1967, when it began an unbroken run of 23 weeks at the summit. It had four further, non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 from November 1967 to February 1968. Its last appearance in the top ten in its first iteration came in March that year, some nine months after its release; a 20th anniversary reissue in 1987 took the album back to No. 3 in the UK.

Reissued to mark its 50th anniversary last year in deluxe CD and vinyl editions, Sgt. Pepper returned to No. 1 on the Official Charts Company’s survey dated the week of 8 June 2017, a total of 49 years and 363 days since it first hit the top. By another method of measuring the longevity, the time between its last week at No. 1 in its original run, 3 February 1968, and the recent reissue is 49 years and 125 days.

I met a lovely lady today called Louise Dryden, whose father, David Goodwin, worked for the Beatles at Apple. He was employed by Alexis Mardas at Apple Electronics at Boston Place and also at Savile Row. She told me loads of stories about her father’s time at Apple, including when Alexis and John Lennon visited him at his place in Harlesden, and asked him to come to work for the Beatles. David designed the electronics that went with the conceptual ‘Plastic Ono Band’ that is seen on the front cover of the single of ‘Give Peace a Chance’. Louise herself remembers going to the infamous Apple Christmas Party in 1968, when John and Yoko played Father and Mother Christmas, and being in Savile Row in the summer of 1969, only to find the Rolling Stones playing in the Apple Studio – they we rehearsing for their Hyde Park gig.

David Goodwin went back to work for Alexis Mardas after they both left Apple. One invention they worked on was a Savile Row suit that was bullet proof. One day Louis went to her father’s place to find the former King of Greece and the deposed King of Spain dressed only in their underwear, waiting to try on their suits. Knowing ‘Magic Alex’ I bet they didn’t work!

Louise has a wonderful coat from the Apple Shop on Baker Street, and an amazing ‘in house’ magazine from Apple, called Gilet De Sauvetage est Sous La Siege, which is French for ‘Lifejacket Under the Seat’ and the subtitle (an Apple a Day is out of the Question)! The cover is designed to look like an official Government document. It’s dated November 1968.

In it is all the gossip from 3 Savile Row. Although an author isn’t credited, most of it seems to be written by Derek Taylor, with contributions from other staff members.

Much of it is hilarious. Here are some highlights:

“Tony Measles Bramwell Best dressed man about Apple, second only Ron Kass….

“Paul wants a garden built on the roof at Savile Row, and so one will be arriving any week now; certainly there will be window boxes by Christmas and bulbs by early spring. A lawn takes longer’.

“Returning from a mission of mercy, Richard overheard two bowler hatted types speaking outside of number 3. “Apple, that’s where all the queers hang out.” Resenting this remark, he expressed his hostility by rudely gesturing with his middle finger up and down. The other party responded by gesturing wit two fingers. Does V stand for victory”

Internal Memo

Date 10th July 1968

From Stephen Maltz

To Everyone

Re 95 Wigmore Street

‘I wish to inform you that under the terms of our lease, we are strictly prohibited from playing any musical instruments ( including tape recorders and record players) on the premises. If there are any complaints from our superior landlords who are above us, or our landlords who are below us, we can be sued for breach of our lease’

[Blogger’s note – Wigmore Street was Apple’s HQ before Savile Row – running a record company without being allowed to play music in the building was something of a disadvantage!]

Internal Memo

Date 30th September 1968

From Derek Taylor

To Neil Aspinall

‘We should pay Joe at Abbey Cars or we will get a solicitors letter, or he will get his legs broken’